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falsetto

n. a thin, high-pitched voice in which vocal register is extended upward beyond the normal range when a reduced surface of the expanded and separated vocal cords is activated by the airstream. This quality of vocal resonance can be used by men to extend the normal range of their singing voice.

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Psychology term of the day

March 13th 2025

alpha

alpha

(symbol: α) n.

1. the likelihood of incorrectly rejecting a statement or hypothesis concerning a characteristic of a population. More specifically, it is the probability of incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis (i.e., committing a Type I error) in research. Although the value of alpha is chosen by the investigator based on what is deemed acceptable for a particular study, alpha values of .05 and .01 are commonly used.

2. a measure of reliability for a set of responses to a test or measure. See Cronbach’s alpha.